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It is strongly recommended that you include your outline in the body of your essay by using the outline as section titles. The headings below are there to remind you how section and subsection titles are formatted. | | |
Avoiding the fate of Stack | |
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< | Of course, taking responsibility is only the first step. A teacher may understand that she is the one who has the ability to help her students succeed, yet do nothing. Or she may do something that is not tailored to the correct goal, or even something harmful. A. Joseph Stack fought against the injustices he perceived, but incorrectly selected his method. He thought that his act would inspire people to “wake up.” This is a laudable goal, but an unlikely result from his chosen action. So there are improper executions of responsibility, and it is important that the method one chooses is likely to result in the desired change. | >
> | Of course, taking responsibility is only the first step. A teacher may understand that she is the one who has the ability to help her students succeed, yet do nothing. Or she may do something that is not tailored to the correct goal, or even something harmful. A. Joseph Stack fought against the injustices he perceived, but incorrectly selected his method. He thought that his act would inspire people to “wake up.” This is a laudable goal, but as Brown recognized, not a goal that is likely to be met by the killing of innocents. Brown noted that he did not wish for his men to be mistaken as those who, “had no regard for life and property, nor any feelings of humanity.”
It is that feeling of humanity that colors the correct methods differently from the poor ones. Stack’s actions resulted in the death of a man; a death that was not due to an act of self-defense. Vernan Hunter’s death was not humane. Killing others who are entrapped in the same web of frustration and stolen autonomy will never further a cause, and is likely to turn those who should be on your side against you. This was Stack’s mistake. | | |
Application to a legal career
So the question remains, how do people take responsibility as lawyers? Lawrence Joseph, through his character Robinson, points out that “A real lawyer knows how to take care of a legal problem.” Maybe the first step is to recognize that a lawyer can take care of legal problems, and when legal problems go unsolved, it is our fault. We, through luck or riches, are the ones who will become lawyers, and we have no excuse to shirk this responsibility. Yet, that explanation standing alone leaves some dissatisfaction. If the goal of a lawyer is to solve legal problems, then how do we define legal problem? | |
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< | A teacher has the luxury of a few core goals, which are generally difficult to argue against. Children should be taught to read and solve math problems, and by measuring those abilities, teachers have a clear idea of their success. There are certainly other goals that a teacher may set, which are much easier to challenge, but that does not negate the reading/math core. Legal goals are more complicated. Lawyers working for corporations undoubtedly think that they are faced with legal problems, and celebrate themselves for solving those problems. Likewise, just as it is easy to argue that a criminal prosecutor is solving problems by ensuring punishment for those who commit crimes, it is also arguable that the criminal defender is working to solve the problem of a system that is not punishing crimes as much as it is punishing race and class. Somewhere, in all of this, are there core goals we all agree on? Or do we have to each make our own evaluation? | >
> | A teacher has the luxury of a few core goals, which are generally difficult to argue against. Children should be taught to read and solve math problems, and by measuring those abilities, teachers have a clear idea of their success. There are certainly other goals that a teacher may set, which are much easier to challenge, but that does not negate the reading/math core.
Legal goals are more complicated. For example, it is easy to argue that a criminal prosecutor is solving problems by ensuring punishment for those who commit crimes, but it is also arguable that the criminal defender is working to solve the problem of a system that is not punishing crimes as much as it is punishing race and class. Can these seemingly opposed goals be reconciled?
Yes, they can. The key is to color our choices with “feelings of humanity”. Not simply by avoiding murder (which, to be sure, is an important subsidiary result), but by making legal choices that represent a basic respect for all. We must take responsibility for our career choices, and if our choices cause suffering to innocents, that is our problem. A problem that we, as individuals, must fight to solve. | | | | |
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< | At this point, I don't pretend to have the ability to answer these questions. Although, I do think that John Brown offers us a good starting framework. He said, “I respect the rights of the poorest and weakest of colored people, oppressed by the slave system, just as much as I do those of the most wealthy and powerful. This is the idea that has moved me, and that alone.” If I may echo his wisdom, perhaps if we start with the goal of restoring/preserving respect for all people, we have found a worthy core. | | | | |
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< | This is rhetorically
accomplished. The central weakness in the argument is that you don't
show how Stack "incorrectly selected" the method you imply Brown was
correct to choose: violence to "wake people up." A reason might be
given, can be given, was given by Brown. But if you had given it,
although your "making students' failure your problem" metaphor
probably could be retained, the analysis would grow more complex.
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